To you and your kin
by aurghhh
Summary: Paige gets unexpectedly nervous when she and Emily go carol singing and their grandmothers are in the audience. Based on the 5x13 preview.


**A/N:** Based on the prompt "…Paily singing Christmas carols just like in the preview. Paige is nervous that she has to sing in front of Grandma Fields and Grandma McCullers and so Emily holds her hand to try and calm her down as they singing in front of their grandma's n the other elderly people."

I've added a couple of other things. Hope you like it.

I've decided that Emily's grandmother is Nanna Fields, ie her paternal grandmother, Paige's is Granma Wilis, her maternal grandmother. Not sure why, but they are.

* * *

><p>Emily had been so excited. Paige less so.<p>

"My Nanna's going to come along," Emily announced.

"That's great, Em," Paige forced herself to reply.

A few students had been picked by the school to sing carols for residents of the local nursing home - called Shady Days, because hey, this is Rosewood. Paige's grandmother lived there since her stroke a couple of years ago. Emily's grandmother wasn't a resident, but she did used to work there until she retired, so when Emily told her about it then of course she wanted to come along and watch her granddaughter sing.

Paige wasn't sure why she was so nervous about this. She had met Emily's Nanna and she was lovely. Less scary than Emily mother, in fact. But for some reason, singing in front of two grandparents made her anxious.

So when Emily arrived that morning Paige was having second thoughts.

"You guys are really good," Paige said. "You don't need me."

"You've been enjoying yourself, haven't you?" Emily reminded her.

"In rehearsals, yes," Paige replied. "My Granma wasn't there. Or yours."

"Come on, we'll have a great time," Emily insisted. "Remember when you were the one getting me up on stage to sing?"

Paige did, but this wasn't a karaoke bar, this was unaccompanied harmonies. In public. For the first time. With grandparents in the audience.

"What if I get it wrong?" Paige asked. "I might…"

Emily grabbed Paige's face with both hands and kissed her. Paige had to admit this was kind of nice.

"You're coming with us, and you're going to have a good time," Emily declared.

Just to make sure, Emily grabbed Paige's hand and dragged her outside.

They rode their bikes in to school. It was a fresh, cool morning, and somehow Rosewood looked prettier with a light dusting of snow. The town somehow felt calm and relaxed, in a way it rarely did, and Paige took in a little of this feeling.

Things were less relaxed when they arrived, however. Jenna was in charge and was intent on running the show with military precision.

"You all should have memorized the song list by now, so make sure you're ready for each carol," she instructed them. "The break between carols will be precisely seven seconds, and I don't want any rustling of paper once we're singing. Remember, if I hear anyone miss an entrance you'll be handing out the cookies next time."

They all knew this wasn't an idle threat. Aria was one of the best singers in the school, but a moment's distraction when Ezra had turned up to listen to them last time had her on snack duties today. And her place had been given to Paige.

"Now, Emily and Paige," Jenna announced. "I'm not sure we should have you two next to each other. I might put Paige in the beck next to Martin, and put Jess in the front."

"Ah, we've been practicing together," Paige protested. "A lot."

"We really match," Emily explained. "I mean, we fit… as in, we go well…"

"Our singing," Paige elaborated.

"Yes," Emily agreed, nodding.

Jenna was thinking, which Paige could tell from the tiniest movement of the other girl's head.

"Alright then, but don't distract each other," Jenna warned them.

"We won't," Emily responded.

"We promise," Paige added.

Jenna marched them into the main room, onto the temporary stage. Paige scanned the audience. She quickly spotted her grandmother in the centre of the second row. Right next to Emily's grandmother. The two of them were looking at Paige and Emily, Paige's Granma stern and serious, Emily's Nan cheerful and expectant.

Sydney did the introductions, and the singing began.

The set was mostly traditional. They started with "Away in a Manger", then "Little Town of Bethlehem", then "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". Paige was coping, mostly. She was generally in tune, and pretty much hit all her entries. Her harmonies her usually right. She could sometimes even look at the audience. And she wasn't shaking much.

Paige loved singing. She tried to remind herself of that, but coming up soon was "Joy to the World". She hated that song. No, she loved the song, she just hated the first note, which had to be sung at full volume with no lead in. She only had to be half a second early or a quarter of a tone flat and it would be instant humiliation, like High School Musical all over again.

She instinctively looked at Emily and silently pleaded for help. And somehow Paige saw the concern in Emily's eyes, even as Emily gave her best Christmas smile.

As they went into "We Three Kings", Emily reached out and took Paige's hand. It felt so natural, and comforting. Somehow just the warmth of Emily's touch made everything better. Paige started to feel stronger now. She looked up as she sang, and could see their grandmothers there, listening to them.

Emily's grandmother was adorable, really. She was smiling proudly and faintly swaying in time with the music. Paige's grandmother looked… probably as close to happy as they could expect. She clearly wasn't displeased, which was good, really.

It was time, now, and Paige felt ready to face her nemesis. "Joy to the World" indeed. There was nothing to do but belt it out. The world was going to get a whole bunch of joy whether it wanted it or not. After the hushed count in she just let go.

It worked. She hit the opening at exactly the same moment as Jenna, and together they dragged the others along with them. It was one of the most rousing renditions of the song they'd done.

After that it was the last song of their first set, "O Come All Ye Faithful". This was a nice one, and not too hard. Paige was really having a good time now. She was still holding on to Emily, and they were swinging their hands together in time with the music. It was so much fun she wondered why she'd been so nervous.

And then they were done. It was time to take a break and go talk to their grandparents.

It was only as Paige stepped down off the stage that it really dawned on her that she'd just been holding her girlfriend's hand in front of a roomful of strangers.

* * *

><p>"So what did you think?" Emily asked eagerly.<p>

"Oh, it was lovely," her Nanna replied.

"Where was 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'?" Paige's Granma asked.

"We're doing that in the next set," Paige explained.

"You're supposed to finish with that," Granma added.

"We are," Paige agreed.

"Oh," Granma said.

"Well I thought you all sang beautifully," Nanna Fields observed.

"Yes, but they're supposed to finish with 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'," Granma Willis cut in. Nanna Fields just smiled and nodded.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" Nanna Fields asked.

"Yes, we are," Emily replied, giving Paige a quick grin.

"I was a bit nervous before we went on," Paige added. "It turned out OK, though."

"Well, your grandfather was like that," Granma Wills said.

"Did he sing too?" Nanna Fields asked.

"Yes, quite a lot," Granma Wills explained. "He was in the church choir, and he and some friends had a barbershop quartet. Oh, and just at home, too. He was a very loud baritone."

"That's nice," Nanna Fields responded. "You're keeping up a family tradition then, Paige."

"He used to have some whiskey before he sang," Granma Wills explained. "You probably can't do that here."

"Not really, Granma," Paige agreed.

"I think I've still got his flask somewhere," Granma Wills continued. "I could have filled it up and brought some along for you."

Emily knew she had to be joking, but there was no hint of jest in the old woman's face or voice.

"I might get in trouble," Paige pointed out.

"Well, I suppose so," Granma Wills responded. "The preacher always had some if Ron needed it. Most of the time he was OK, but he fell over the pew one time. Walked right into it."

"Granpa or the preacher?" Paige asked.

"Oh, your grandfather," Granma Wills replied. "They'd just finished singing Love Divine and there he went, flipped straight over. All I could see was his legs sticking up."

Emily allowed herself a bit of a chuckle at this point, but was trying not to laugh to hard.

"He picked himself with a bit of help," Granma Wills continued. "Then he just stood and faced the altar and bowed a little like nothing at all had happened. The thing was his braces had become unhooked, so when he did this his, you know, his trousers feel down. I'd told him he needed some new ones. I said it was going to happen, and it did. At least he had his good underwear on."

Now Emily was laughing. Paige was too. Emily's Nanna was valiantly trying not to.

"So probably don't do that," Granma Wills concluded.

"I won't, Granma," Paige promised.

* * *

><p>Emily had excused herself to get everyone some drinks. As she did so, she noticed Sydney behind her waiting patiently. She looked so nervous, but she smiled determinedly when Emily looked her way. Poor girl.<p>

Emily had to try to break the ice.

"Would you like one?" Emily asked.

"Um, yeah, but that's OK, I can get it," Sydney replied.

"That's fine," Emily assured her, and poured the other girl a drink too.

"Thank you," Sydney said, shifting uncomfortably.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?" Emily asked as she handed Sydney her drink.

"Everyone's coming over, the extended family I mean," Sydney replied. She was still a little hesitant with her words, studying Emily's reactions as if she was worrying she might say the wrong thing. Emily felt awful. "My grandparents, aunt and uncles, cousins and everyone."

"Sounds nice," Emily replied. "Ours will be quieter, just me, my mom and dad, and Paige will be coming over in the evening. My dad's in the army, and he's coming back home in a couple of days."

"You must miss him," Sydney observed.

"I do," Emily replied. "_We_ do. It's great to have him back."

"Well, Christmas is a time for family, I suppose," Sydney responded.

"It is," Emily agreed. She took a deep breath. She had to say this. "And it's also a time for forgiveness. A time for putting aside old grudges and making a new start."

Sydney's eyes widened a little.

"Really?" she asked, almost in a whisper.

"Really," Emily confirmed. "I was too hard on you, and I'm sorry for that. It's just… a lot of people had been lying to me, and keeping secrets from me, but I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I know what it's like. When Alison was in danger I was… less than honest too, because I wanted to protect her, so I can't really blame you for doing the same thing."

Sydney looked back at Emily with amazement.

"Thank you," she said. "I wasn't trying to…"

"You don't have to explain," Emily cut in.

"I know," Sydney responded. "But I want you to know. All Jenna asked me to do was to find out whether you guys were working with Alison, and whether Alison had any plans for her. She was scared. I didn't become friends to spy on you, it wasn't like that. Jenna told me not to get too close, but I just… I really liked you. That was me, not anyone giving me orders."

"I believe you," Emily assured her. "I've been learning who I can really trust recently, and I trust you. It might be awkward at times, I don't know if Jenna's told you all the history…" Sydney shook her head. "Well, anyway, I respect that you wanted to protect her. I probably would have done the same."

"So… we can be friends again?" Sydney asked.

"We can," Emily confirmed.

Sydney was beaming now, and Emily felt relieved.

* * *

><p>It was almost time for their second set, so they had assembled again, waiting in line for Jenna to give the orders to go on. As they waited, Emily leaned forward and whispered to Paige.<p>

"So what are you wearing tonight?" she asked.

"You'll see," Paige replied.

"Is it a suit?" Emily asked.

Ever since the ball had been announced Emily had not so subtly been letting Paige know what she wanted her to wear, and Paige had indeed found a very stylish white suit, but she was determined to make Emily wait. Tonight she would see Emily's dress which she was so excited about, and Emily would see Paige's suit. Paige was pretty confident that Emily would be happy.

"Not sure," Paige replied. "I haven't decided."

They both knew she was lying.

"I bet it is," Emily whispered.

"Emily, Paige, focus!" Jenna snapped. "You can talk about your outfits for this evening later."

Paige was taken aback for a moment. How had she heard that? But then, she was Jenna.

Soon it was time, anyway.

"Proceed," Jenna ordered, and they walked in and took their places.

"Good King Wenceslas" was first. Paige wasn't nervous now, so she could just enjoy herself. She decided she liked this. It was the music, and the feeling of the sound coming from within her. It was hearing her voice blend in with the others to create something beautiful. And it was the looks of happiness on all the faces in the audience. She used to think caroling was silly, but now she could see how it brightened people's lives.

They were well into their second song, "The First Noel", before Paige realized she was holding Emily's hand again. This time it wasn't from fear, though. This time it was from joy.


End file.
